Uncle Frank
by PotCFan101
Summary: Takes place from 1x04 to the finale. AU where Leo Lieberman discovers early on that Pete is really Frank, and that Frank is the Punisher. She accepts him for who he is, and he gives her the pink Ruger rifle he nabbed from Turk. Rated M for bloody violence.
1. The Good Samaritan

"Ow! God damn it!" Leo Lieberman yelled. She was trying to fix the kitchen sink, and using a Youtube tutorial she found, but something went wrong. She had accidentally dropped the wrench, and it landed on her foot. "Mother f-"

"Leo?" Her mother, Sarah called, walking into the kitchen with Pete Castiglione, the she heard that her mom hit with the car. "Hey, you okay?"

"Sorry, the wrench just slipped." Leo replied.

"What's going on?" Pete asked.

"The garbage disposal is acting up." Leo grumbled, before looking up Pete. He was wearing all black, had short hair, and was clean shaven.

"Oh boy." Pete mumbled. "Maybe I can give you a hand."

"Yeah, sure." Sarah agreed, while the man took off his coat. "Have at it."

"Alright, let's see what's going on." Pete said, peering under the sink. "Yeah, looks like a two-man job. Let's take a look, yeah?" Pete attempted to get a better look at the pipes.

"Well, that's really in there, huh? What is that? So if I open this..." Pete pried open a pipe, before asking Leo, "Think you can pull that sucker out of there?"

"Yeah." Leo replied, using the wrench."

"Alright, give it a wallop." Pete told her, as she pulled with the wrench. "Attagirl! Good job." Leo pulled out a marble, and showed it to her mother.

"Three guesses who put it down there." Leo groaned, giving Sarah the object.

"Hey, she's pretty handy." Pete complimented. "I think you got a future engineer on your hands. You got any other interests, Leo?"

"Yeah, I always wanted to learn how to shoot." Leo told him. "I just think it would be nice skill to learn."

"I just don't know who she gets any of this from." Sarah admitted. "I'm useless. David was brilliant, but he never liked getting his hands dirty. And neither of of us have fired a gun before."

"Really?" Pete asked.

"Yeah, whenever something broke, we'd call a guy."

"Well, you don't need to call a guy anymore." Pete said, pointing to Leo. "You got Leo. Good job. And I might be able to help you with shooting. We just need to find a range." Pete offered his hand to the girl, partly to shake, and part to help her thank.

"Thanks, you too, Pete!" Leo replied, shaking his hand.

"Alright, wash your hands, they're filthy." Sarah scolded. "And use soap." Leo went to the upstairs bathroom, and once she finished scrubbing the grime off, walked to her brother Zach's room, finding him playing a video game.

"Hey, Mom said to do your homework." Leo reminded him.

"Get out of my room!" Zach yelled, prompting Leo to leave. Leo entered her own room, opening her laptop. There was something about Pete that looked familiar, and she was sure she could find something on the Internet. After searching a bit, she found that there was no one on record with the name Pete Castiglione. The closest last name to that came to was named "Castle,Frank". Frowning, Leo clicked on the name, and dozens of articles sprang up, all with the same face Pete wore. One read about a bunch of mobsters Castle killed in Hell's Kitchen a year ago. Another read "The Trial of the Century", where Castle was sent to prison for his crimes. Leo shuddered, until she found one more article, detailing the murders of his family at the park, with him being the only witness. Suddenly, Leo began to sympathize with Frank, despite what he had done. Soon after, she began wondering if Pete was actually Frank, and decided on finally asking him the next time she saw him. Smiling, Leo put her computer away, thinking about how Pete, Frank, whoever he was, didn't seem all that bad of a guy.


	2. Family Dinner

"So, by the end of it, you're wondering, 'Wait, was the tiger even real?'" Leo was explaining one of her reading assignments to Pete, who was busy working on fixing Sarah's headlight. "Or did he just make up all that animal stuff to, like, get through it somehow?" It had only been a day since she researched Pete Castiglione on the Internet, and she had found an image of a man called Frank Castle, who looked exactly like Pete. As she had started reading about him, Leo found out Frank was put on trial in Hell's Kitchen last year for murdering dozens of criminals, only to escape prison after one day. Since then he was declared deceased in an explosion near the docks.

"What do you think? Was the tiger in the boat?" Pete asked.

"You should check it out." Leo decided.

"Fair enough. Let's see the new one." Pete requested, pointing to the other headlight. "So, you read a lot, huh?"

"Yeah, it takes my mind off things." Leo replied. "How about you?"

"Yeah, I enjoy a good book." Pete answered. Leo was about to ask him about Frank Castle, until she heard a skateboard roll up. Turning around, Leo and Pete saw Zach approach them.

"What are you doing here?" Zach accused.

"Baking a cake." Pete replied sarcastically. Leo looked at her brother, then at the board.

"Where'd you get the skateboard?" Leo interrogated.

"Why?" Zach asked defensively.

"Because you didn't have it this morning." Leo stated the obvious, causing Pete to look up.

"Yeah, well now I do." Zach shrugged off the implication and went inside, pushing Leo.

"Douche." Leo muttered.

"Hey, I think it's time I asked you a question." Pete announced. "How come you wanna learn to shoot?"

"I just wanna be prepared if something happens." Leo explained. "I guess Mom told you that I feel like I need to take a lot of responsibility, and I kinda do because I'm older. Besides, you never know what could happen, after the Incident…" Leo then went inside to talk with Sarah.

"I think you should invite Pete to dinner." Leo announced, walking over to the fridge.

"Why?" Sarah asked. "He's just fixing the headlight."

"It would have cost at least five hundred bucks if we went to a mechanic." Leo stated, getting some orange juice. "Even more if your insurance went up."

"No, I know." Sarah agreed. "You're right, it was generous of him."

"So inviting him to dinner is a nice way of saying thank you." Leo insisted. "It's just being polite."

"We barely even know the guy." Sarah pointed out.

"Right, but you'll have him over to fix the car?" Leo asked. Checkmate.

"That's not fair, he insisted." Sarah argued.

"All the more reason we should show our gratitude." Leo shot back, just as Pete entered the house.

"Hey, we were just talking about how grateful we are of you." Sarah told Pete.

"Mom was thinking of inviting you for dinner." Leo interrupted. "You know. On sunday, to say thank you." Sarah hit Leo with a paper, as the kid gave her a triumphant smile.

"It's very kind, but there's no need." Pete said, making's Leo's smile fade.

"Really? I mean, it is the least thing we could do." Sarah asked, genuinely surprised.

"Well, I say if you break something, you fix it, right?" Pete reasoned. "I broke the light."

"Yeah, but with your face." Leo joked.

"Good point." Pete chuckled, before looking at something in her hands. "That the book?" Leo nodded, showing him the tiger.

"Well, I'm not Rachel Ray, but I'll do my best to make something edible." Sarah laughed.

"It has been a while since I've had a home cooked meal." Pete thought out loud.

"It's also been a while since she's made one." Everyone turned around, seeing Zach in the hallway. Without another word, Zach left the house, despite Sarah calling after him.

"You know, it'd be an honor, yeah?" Pete said. "To be your guest Sunday." Sarah agreed, and Pete promised to see them that night. Leo had hoped that was when she could ask him if he really was Frank Castle, the man the media dubbed "The Punisher" and then declared dead last year.

Sunday evening rolled around, and Leo found herself waiting at the table, anticipating Pete's arrival. Her mother cooked a chicken dinner, and she and Sarah had wanted to wait for Pete, despite Zach's protests. Unfortunately, it was getting dark and late, and so far, Pete hadn't shown up.

"How long are we going to wait?" Zach asked obnoxiously. Leo shot her brother a glare, before turning to her mother, silently pleading for her not to give in.

"Let's just eat." Sarah sighed, despite Leo shaking her head. Sarah looked at her daughter, noticing she was just staring at her food. Leo wasn't hungry. She was disappointed Pete didn't show up.

Just as Leo was about to cry, they all heard a knock at the door.

"I'll get it!" Leo got up and ran to the door, ripping it open and seeing Pete, looking tired and had a few minor cuts.

"Pete, you came!" Leo happily cried out, before seeing the cuts and bruises. "What happened to you?"

"Uh, got into a fight." Pete explained. From what Leo looked up about Castle, it could very well be true. Leo then noticed he had something behind his back. "Sorry I'm late."

"It's fine, come right in." Sarah shrugged it off, getting up from the table and taking Pete's coat, before noticing a bloody bandage on his shoulder. "Oh my God. Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I had a friend patch me up." Pete said. "But I wouldn't want to miss this for you guys. Speaking, I got something for you Leo." Pete withdrew his hand from behind his back, revealing a pink hunting rifle. "It's a Ruger model. Thought you'd need something if you wanted to start shooting."

"Thanks Pete! It's perfect!" Leo thanked cheerfully, before setting the rifle next to the coat rack. Pete, Leo, and Sarah then walked back to the dining room table, where Zach was already almost done."

"Chicken. Been a while since I've had that." Pete noted, sitting down and saying his prayers, before he began eating.

"So, what exactly were you doing before you got here, Pete?" Leo asked.

"I had to help a friend of mine with something." Pete explained, thinking of Gunner Henderson. "We were trying to fix something at his house, when some people thought we weren't home, and tried to rob him. We ended up having to fight em off."

"Is that what happened to your face and shoulder?" Leo asked.

"Yeah, one of them tried to stab me." Pete replied. "Don't worry, I'm fine now." Pete and Leo kept talking and laughing while having dinner, until it was finally time for Pete to go. Once he finished dinner, Pete drove off back to his home, before promising Leo that he would take her out to a shooting range sometime. Happy that Pete showed up, Leo went to her room, continuing to look up Frank Castle. _Maybe the media is wrong,_ Leo thought. _He helped Mom a lot with the car and house. Maybe he's not such a bad guy._


	3. The Truth Comes Out

"So, how was your math test?" Sarah asked once Leo came home from school.

"I scored 105, including the bonus question." Leo replied.

"Oh my God!" Sarah exclaimed, surprised. "Well, maybe you should take the night off. Hold on, where's your brother?"

"He's… outside, on his skateboard." Leo told her, slowly. Sarah blinked, and pointed to the window. She then got up, and seeing that Zach indeed had a skateboard, started calling him inside, despite Leo's protest. Reluctantly, Zach entered the house, annoyed.

"Burgers again?" He asked, irritated.

"Where'd you get the skateboard from?" Sarah ignored his question.

"From Dinesh. I'm borrowing it." Zach lied.

"You're lying right to my face." Sarah accused. "I know you stole that skateboard." Instead of saying anything, Zach walked over and punched Leo in the face, hard, forcing Sarah to restrain her son.

"Dinesh's mother called me." Sarah told him. "I didn't believe her until I saw it with my own eyes." Zach attempted to push his mother away, but she held onto him.

"Hey, stop it!" Sarah shouted. "Are you a bully now? Is that what this is?"

"This family's full of snitches and traitors!" Zach yelled. "If she didn't narc on me today, then she'd do it tomorrow. That's what we do here!" Zach then ran over to the family picture and pounded his fist against it, breaking the glass. Just as he ran up to his room, Pete knocked on the door.

"I got it." Leo said, walking to the door. "Today's the day Pete said he'd take me to a shooting range." Leo opened the door, allowing Castiglione to enter.

"Hey Leo." Pete greeted softly. "You ready to go?"

"As ready as I'll ever be." Leo muttered, grabbing the Ruger.

"Okay then." Pete said, turning to Sarah. "We'll only be gone for a couple hours. We'll be back soon." After Sarah wished them a safe trip, Leo and Pete left in his van, which was colored black and had a grill over the headlights.

"Hey, what happened there?" Pete asked, pointing to Leo's bruise while driving.

"It's nothing, Pete." Leo lied. "Really, I'm fine."

"Leo, look at me." Pete asked softly, Looking her in the eye while still keeping a steady driving. "Please don't lie to me. What happened?" Leo took a deep breath, considering her options.

"My brother." Leo finally told him. "He stole that skateboard a few days ago, and when Mom said she knew he stole it, he assumed I told her and hit me." A look of anger flashed across Pete's face for a second, then he brought his eyes back on the road. The rest of the drive was in silence, with the two just staring at the road until they arrived at the shooting range. Once they arrived, Leo and Pete were the only ones there, leaving the range open.

"You want some tips before you shoot?" Pete asked.

"Sure." Leo agreed, before Pete gave her the rifle.

"Okay, look down the sights, one eye open." Pete instructed. "Take a deep breath, and as you exhale slowly, squeeze the trigger." Leo did so, and watched the bullet strike the seventh circle on the outside of the target.

"Not bad." Pete said, as he took out his own pistol and shot five bullets into his own target. He pressed the button to make the target closer, and looked at the paper. The holes struck three bullseyes, and two on the ninth circle.

"You're really good, Pete." Leo remarked. "You in the army?"

"Yeah, served in the Marines." Pete replied, before looking at the girl, seeing a weird look in her eyes. "What's wrong?"

"Is your name really Frank Castle?" Leo asked. "Please don't lie to me."

"I- yeah." Pete admitted. "How long have you known?"

"I didn't know for sure, but since they day I saw you, I looked up a picture of Castle." Leo revealed. "Why didn't you tell us?"

"Because if I did, your lives would be in danger." Frank explained. "And I didn't want to scare you guys away. If you don't want me around though, I will leave you and your family alone." Instead of looking scared, Leo stepped closer to Frank.

"I want you to stay. I think the media is wrong about you." Leo said. "The whole time we've known you, you've never wanted to hurt since Dad died, we need someone to stand by us. Now more than ever."

"I appreciate that Leo." Frank mumbled softly, hugging the girl. "Now, wanna continue your practice?" Leo grinned, picking up the rifle and shooting the target again, this time hitting the third circle.


	4. Taken

_Two Days Ago_

"Oh my God." Sarah whispered, watching the news with Leo. It had been a quiet day, and after hearing about a recent bombing, they had watched the news to see if there were any updates. What they did find out was that a police car had taken a photo of who they thought as Pete, now known as Frank Castle, sliding off the hood and evading the cops. "I let him in our house."

"He's not bad mom." Leo insisted, breaking her own silence. "He only kills criminals." Sarah turned to her, the pieces starting to come together.

"Did you know?" Sarah asked. Leo shrugged.

"I had my suspicions since the day he helped with the sink." Leo revealed, folding her arms. "He confirmed it when we went to the shooting range."

"My God, I let a murderer near my children…" Sarah gasped.

"Mom, Frank is a good man!" Leo argued. "He cares about us, because he lost his own family!"

"What?" Sarah blinked, confused.

"I read in a paper that last year, Frank's entire family was killed at the park, and he was the only survivor!" Leo explained. "Can you honestly tell me that you have never thought of killing the ones who killed Dad?" That was the final straw for Sarah. Overwhelmed, Leo's mother collapsed on the couch.

"Look Mom, we've been around Frank long enough to know that he won't hurt us." Leo said. "He treats us like we're his own family, and he'd never let anyone harm us…"

 _Now_

" _This man is armed and extremely dangerous."_ The television blared. It had only been a few days since the attack on the hotel, and despite a report from Karen Page saying that Frank Castle saved her, the media was still quick to paint him as a monster. Leo and Zach simply stared at the TV, while Sarah walked in. " _If you see him, do not approach him. Call law enforcement authorities at the number below, or dial 911. His name is Frank Castle…"_

"Change the channel." Sarah finally asked.

"But it's on every channel." Zach pointed out. Deciding it was pointless to argue, Sarah just took the remote and shut the TV off.

"Mom, where do you think Frank is?" Leo asked.

"You're worried about him?" Zach accused. "Everything he told us was a lie. We're lucky he didn't kill us too."

"Hey, you two, let it go." Sarah snapped. "I'm not telling you again."

"You're the one who let him in." Zach turned on his mother. "Maybe you're not the expert on what we should do."

"Keeping our heads down, and our mouths shut. That's what we do." Sarah sighed. "If there's one thing your father left us, it's that lesson."

"Do you think Frank really is a bad guy, Mom?" Leo asked, knowing full well what he had done in the past. Sarah just looked at her. "Do you?"

"I don't know, sweetheart." Sarah muttered, looking at the floor while Zach ran to his room, grabbing his phone. "Come here." Sarah pulled Leo in close to comfort her.

A few hours later, the Liebermans found themselves in the kitchen, preparing lunch. While Leo was busy with her homework, Sarah and Zach were chopping vegetables, much to Zach's disdain.

"How much more?" Zach complained. "I'm going to get carpal tunnel." Just then, Leo's cell phone rang.

"Hold on Mom." Leo called, beginning to go upstairs. About a minute later, Leo heard her brother open the door for someone, but she was busy texting at the moment.

"How do you know Frank Castle?" A man asked, causing Leo to stop texting and begin going downstairs, stopping at the top.

"I don't." Sarah lied. Leo exhaled in relief, thankful she didn't give up their friend.

"Where's your daughter?" The officer asked. Sarah looked at Leo once, giving her the signal to hide, and Leo went back upstairs. "Is she home or not?" Leo tried listening in on the conversation, but only heard it muffled, as she tried listening through the floorboards of her bedroom. Suddenly, she heard a crash, and despite what her mother asked, Leo tiptoed downstairs, seeing Sarah and Leo captured by two people dressed as cops, with one having a gun to Sarah's head. With a small gasp, Leo went back upstairs, catching a small glimpse of the first officer. Leo waited for the cops to leave, before she grabbed her Ruger rifle, doing the best to hide it in a coat, and ran outside, believing it wasn't safe in her house anymore. Leo walked the streets for a half hour, finally sitting on a park bench, and got a phone call.

"Leo?" Frank's voice said out the other end.

"Frank?" Leo asked. "Thank God. They took Mom and Zach."

"Listen, I know, and I'm going to help you." Frank told her. "But you can't talk to anybody. Not the police, no one. You gotta promise me that."

"Alright. No one." Leo agreed.

"Now look, I know you have no reason to trust me, but I'm the only hope that you and your family are alive." Frank continued.

"Frank, I do trust you." Leo revealed. "You've never done anything that would hurt us."

"It means a lot to hear you say that." Frank said truthfully. "Listen, when we're done talking, I need you to take the battery out and throw it as far as you can. You know what a sim card is, right?"

"Oh yeah." Leo replied.

"Good. You throw that in the other direction, alright?" Frank asked. "And you know where the pool is in that park? I want you to go there. Wait for me, I'll come get you. Do it now, okay?"

"Please hurry, Frank." Leo asked, looking around and hearing sirens. "I'm not sure when the cops will show up again." Frank ended the call, and Leo pulled the battery out, throwing it behind her and running towards the pool, picking up her Ruger. It only took ten minutes to get there, and it didn't take too long for Frank to show up either.

"You okay?" Frank asked, once he arrived at the pool. Leo ran over and hugged Castle, who didn't pry her off.

"Thank you for coming." Leo whispered. "I don't know what to do."

"I'm going to have to drop you off somewhere safe." Frank told her. "Those men who took your mom and brother, they're coming after me. You can't stay with me."

"But I want to help." Leo protested, grabbing her rifle.

"And I don't." Frank interrupted, as they entered his van and drove towards and old ruined building. "Look, I'll explain everything, but right now, you're not safe. Please, stay in the car." Frank finally stopped just outside, turning off the engine and lights, and entered the building, presumably waiting for whoever was after him. Eventually, Leo was getting bored of waiting, and was about to get out when she saw three other cars pull up to the building, with over a dozen men with military grade weapons get out and enter. Leo hid in the car, until all the men went in, and then she grabbed her rifle and exited the vehicle. Looking around, she saw a nearby building, and after climbing the stairs, found a vantage point to see through one of the windows. After looking through her scope, Leo watched as Frank snapped one guy's neck, and moments later, hung another.

Leo noticed that all the rest of the soldiers were going towards the basement, and even though Frank told her not to, she began running towards the building he was in, hearing an explosion. Leo entered the building, finding herself on a catwalk, and still heard constant gunfire. Leo eventually found the stairs that led to the basement, and upon entering, was greeting by the sight of bodies littering the floor. In the distance, she could see Frank shooting people with a shotgun, with gory results. Just as she was about to think Frank was going to be okay, out of the corner of her eye, Leo noticed one of the men hiding from Castle, looking like he was about to shoot. With a dawn of realization, Leo saw that this was the same man who posed as a police officer to take away her mom and Zach. Knowing she had to help Castle, Leo brought up her rifle, aiming for at the man down her sights. Leo took a deep breath, just as Frank told her on the range, and exhaled, slowly, squeezing the trigger and hitting the man in the head, just as he was about to open fire on Castle. Frank looked back at her, only for a moment, giving her a look of thanks, before diving behind a crate, while more men began to converge on his location.

"RUSSO!" Frank yelled with fury, loud enough for everyone in the room to hear. Leo raised an eyebrow, having never heard of a man with that name. "YOU HEAR ME? I'M GONNA WATCH YOU DIE!" A moment later, Frank set off an explosion, killing numerous soldiers. It was by only luck that Leo wasn't harmed. Frank then pulled out a light machine gun, easily gunning down more men. Finally, Frank killed the last man standing with his knife, plunging it into the man's skull.

"RUSSO!" Frank yelled again. Leo made her way to Castle, who was picking off anyone who survived, while trying to find who this 'Russo' was. Leo looked up, seeing one of the soldiers was trying to crawl away. Leo walked over and knelt next to him.

"Where are my mom and brother?" Leo asked.

"I ain't tellin you shit." The man said, spitting out blood.

"I said, where?" Leo asked, again, this time harsher.

"You think I'm scared of you?" The soldier asked, laughing nervously.

"Maybe not." Frank agreed, walking over to Leo and the man, ripping off his mask. "But I'll bet you're scared of me." The man's eyes widened with fear. "Where's Russo?"

"I don't know man." The soldier said. Castle fired a shot to the side, scaring him. "Oh come on! I really don't know!"

"Then the woman… the kid." Frank tried again. "Where'd they take em?"

"I don't know man." The man groaned. "It was need to know. You know how it is. I don't know anything."

"Fair enough." Castle stated, before firing a round into his head, and turned to Leo. "I thought I told you to stay safe."

"You're welcome." Leo muttered, before looking at Frank, who was patting down the dead body. "What are you doing?"

"Seeing if there's anything on him." Frank grunted, before pulling out a phone. After holding a finger to his lips, indicating her silence, he dialed a number, and they both heard another man speak.

"Frank?" The man said. Frank and Leo sat down, with the speaker phone turned on.

"You know the Billy Russo I knew…" Frank began. "He'd have the balls to come himself, you know?"

"Well, I got staff for that these days, Frank." Billy countered. "You know the saying about having a dog and barking yourself?"

"Someday, this'll come down to just you and me." Castle ignored the question. "Just know that, Bill."

"No it isn't." Billy replied nonchalantly. "You're a wanted man, Franky. They'll catch up to you, just like last time."

"Guess we're both running out of time, huh Bill?" Frank taunted.

"What's in the computers, Frank?" Russo's tone sounded serious this time.

"The woman and the kid, where are they?" Frank ignored the question.

"Oh, they're with me. Right here." Billy told him. "Safe and sound, unless I saw otherwise." Leo shuddered, hearing Zach crying in the background.

"He's got everything, Bill." Frank revealed. Before Leo could ask who, he added, "Lieberman, he's got everything on you. I'm gonna tell you right now, anything happens to that family, the whole world will see it Bill. And after that, you'll be done."

"And Zach and Sarah will be dead." Russo reminded him, making Leo flinch. "You want that family back? I want Lieberman, and I want you."

"Sounds about right." Frank muttered.

"I'll set up the exchange then." Russo decided. "If, that's alright with you."

"Yeah, you got my number, Bill." Frank whispered, before shutting off the phone. The past five minutes were a lot for Leo to take in, and she decided to start asking a couple questions.

"Is my dad alive?" Frank looked at her.

"He is." Frank replied. "I'm sorry. I wish I could have told you. But they would've killed your family, and then kill him if they found out."

"Who's Billy Russo?"

"He used to be my best friend back in the Marines. He's turned into a bit of an asshole lately."

"Are you really going to trade yourself and Dad for Mom and Zach?" Frank stared at her for a few lingering moments.

"I don't see any other way, Leo." Frank wrapped his arms around her in a hug. "I'm sorry."

"What do we do now?" Leo asked, picking up her Ruger.

"We gotta meet your dad." Frank said, getting up. "He went to see a mutual friend of ours for help." Frank and Leo left the compound and drove around New York, finding an area where some homeless people were hanging out. After walking around a bit, Leo saw her dad, David Lieberman.

"Dad!" Leo yelled, running over and hugging her father.

"Hey, Leo!" David said, hugging her back, while looking at Frank. "Thank you for keeping her safe."

"She saved me a bit back there." Frank pointed out, causing Leo to smile. "I'm proud of her."

"I see you had a bit of work." David noted, seeing the blood. "Russo?"

"Wasn't with them." Frank muttered bitterly. "The bastard didn't have the balls to come do it himself."

"That's a shame." Frank turned around, seeing a woman with brown hair walk up to them. "Then again, I'd like to see Russo face justice for killing my partner."

"So you did go to Madani." Frank grumbled, while David nodded. "Well, how about it, Madani? You gonna pull your gun on me again?"

"I'm a bit surprised you let me call her." David said, changing the subject.

"I am too." Madani agreed.

"Well, if he trusts you, then so do I." Frank decided. "Besides, we need your help. Wolf was part this, Rawlins is in the CIA, and Russo is working with them. We need someone in Homeland for an edge." Frank then walked over to Leo, patting her on the shoulder.

"Hey, you did good, kid." Frank said softly.

"Thanks, Frank." Leo replied, smiling at him.

"Let's go." Madani called out. "We need to get you to Homeland immediately." Nodding, Frank, Leo, and David got in the van, following Madani to the Homeland Security office, planning on stopping Rawlins and getting Leo's mom and brother back.


	5. Reunion

Leo was waiting outside Madani's office, being comforted by her father.

"Hey, Leo, it's okay." David reassured her. "You're safe."

"But what about Mom and Zach?" Leo asked, looking up.

"Yeah, we're all working on that." David mumbled. "It's gonna be okay."

"How do you know?" Leo asked, unconvinced.

"I'm gonna make sure." David promised. Leo sat there for a moment, in silence, before deciding to bring up her biggest question.

"What happened, Dad?" Leo asked. "We thought you died. We even had a funeral."

"I was trying to protect you, and I guess…" David tried to find the right words. "I know it doesn't feel like that right now, and I did a lousy job, but I promise, I'm going to make it right."

"You're going away again, aren't you?" Leo asked, getting an idea what he meant. "You and Frank are leaving? If you're going to do something, I don't want you to go."

"We gotta get Mom and your brother." David announced, deciding to ignore her question.

"But what if you don't?" Leo asked, worried. Before David could answer, Madani approached them, signaling David to come in for interrogation. Before he left, David looked at her one last time.

"Just know that I'm proud of you Leo." David said sadly, before shutting the door behind him. A few minutes later, Frank came out another door, sitting across from Leo. Neither spoke a word to each other, and just waited for David to get done. After both men were done being interrogated, they and Madani left to go get Sarah and Zach, leaving Leo to wait at the Homeland building.

About an hour later, Madani came back, with Sarah and Zach.

"Where's my Dad?" Leo asked.

"He's alright, he's just getting cleaned up." Madani told her. "He had the idea to fake his death so that those men wouldn't take him with Castle." Leo nodded, and joined her mom and brother, who comforted them until David returned. After a few minutes, the door opened, and David walked in, wearing a blue hoodie, courtesy of Madani.

"Hi." David murmured. Leo smiled, while Sarah walked over to her husband still shocked.

"God damn you." Sarah cried, beginning to push and hit David. "You bastard, what did you do? We watched you die! We saw you die, you were dead for a year!"

"Mom, stop it!" Leo shouted, causing Sarah to pause momentarily, as David wrapped her in a hug.

"Hey, hey, hey." David comforted his wife, as Leo got up and hugged Sarah too. "I'm so sorry. Okay? I'm so sorry. So sorry." Eventually, Zach got up and hugged his family as well. After minutes of just standing, David and Sarah broke off the hug, going to talk in another room.

"You okay, Zach?" Leo asked her brother.

"I'm fine." Zach told her. "I'm sorry I sold him out."

"I don't really blame you." Leo said truthfully. "I wasn't sure if I wouldn't do that if I hadn't known who he was before…"

"You remember that knife I got?" Zach asked.

"Yeah, why?" Leo replied.

"He threatened to cut my head off." Zach told her, wearing a small grin.

"Really?" Leo asked.

"Yeah." Zach continued. "Five minutes later, we're playing football in the street." Zach and Leo chuckled, before Sarah entered the room and sat next to her kids, while Madani spoke with David. Leo was too tired from the past week, and just fell asleep in the chair, using her mother as a pillow. The hours slipped by, but when she woke up, she was in an apartment guarded by Homeland, with Zach on the couch and waiting for David to come back.


	6. Welcome to the Family

"Do you have any queens?" Leo asked. She, Zach, and David were playing cards, while Sarah was reading a magazine. David smirked, looking through his set.

"Take em." David told her, sliding the cards into her pile.

"Do you have any nines?" Zach continued.

"Go fish." Leo said, smiling. Zach uttered a "Dang", before grabbing another card. Sarah smiled, this was the happiest she's seen her family in a while.

"I'll take those nines of yours now." David added, chuckling, while Zach gave him the pair. "Thank you. So, you guys know anyone else who's been in a safe house?"

"Who'd want to?" Leo asked, smirking.

"Yeah." David muttered, and continued playing.

"Are we gonna be here long?" Zach asked, concerned.

"Ah, no." David replied. "We're just here because one of Frank's… friends is still out there."

"Russo?" Leo asked. Everyone looked at her.

"Uh, yeah." David answered, before changing the subject. "This is more of a shit house though." Everyone laughed, even Sarah cracked a smile.

"Hey, kids, I gotta talk with your dad for a moment." Sarah made up, standing up. "Can you play without him for a second?" Leo nodded, as Sarah and David went into another room.

"Do you have any eights?" Zach asked.

"You just cheated!" Leo exclaimed, laughing.

"Says the cheater." Zach retorted. Suddenly, they began hearing sounds from the other room. "What do you think they're talking about?"

"Not too sure…" Leo lied, deciding to tell him when he was older. A few hours later, the guards told them that they were all free to go, and weren't in any danger. Leo, Zach, Sarah, and David drove home, and three days later, began to prepare a welcome home dinner, hoping that Frank would join them. Castle offered to take David home, as the past few days had been non stop testimonies and court hearings over everything they had found.

"Mom, that smells so good." Leo complimented, as Sarah pulled a chicken out of the oven. Zach and Sarah agreed, putting the Chicken on a platter and began setting the table.

"This is gonna be great Mom." Zach said, setting down the dessert, while Leo picked up the vegetables.

"Okay, put those over there, Leo." Sarah instructed, pointing to one end of the table. They had finally finished setting the table, when there was a knock at the door. "They're here, come on." Sarah opened the door, and David and Frank stood just outside. Zach and Leo instantly hugged their father, while David and Sarah kissed. Frank just stood off in the distance, before Leo approached him and wrapped her arms around him as well.

"Hey, Leo." Frank greeted, returning the hug.

"It's good to see you again, Uncle Frank." Leo whispered. Frank nearly choked.

"Uh, Uncle?" Frank asked, looking at David and Sarah. They simply smiled, approving of the nickname. Looking down at Leo, Frank smiled back, and after closing the door, they all went to the dining room to have dinner, the danger was finally over, and Frank's war had ended.


End file.
